Of Revenge and Retribution
by Mister Badguy
Summary: The story of how one mortal man brought down legendary titans.
1. Zodiac

I moved my leg a bit to avoid the cramps, and to readjust my grip on the stock. I've been waiting here for twelve hours, waiting for him to show up. I saw the sunset, it was beautiful. Saw how the Sun and the Moon changed shifts. I could picture it now:

The Sun, packing his things, says to the moon, "See you at daybreak," then the Moon says, "Not if I see you first," and they both laugh. The Sun reaches into his pocket, and hands the Moon the keys. The two smile at each other. The Sun says goodbye. It's the Moon's turn now. It's his turn to watch the sky.

The skyline at night was beautiful, its lights were like an orgy of fireflies; it's like the city never sleeps. You never really notice things like these, especially if you're not really into it. But I was. Drugs help.

Your view's a bit different behind a scope.

Hours passed. Actually, I couldn't tell. Lost track of time, to be frank. Doesn't matter though, I know. I know he'll be passing by. He always does. That green freak as some damn flying animal, shouldn't be too hard, though, the color's always green.

Lying on top of the roof of a building, waiting, shivering, haven't slept nor eaten anything in a day. My stomach's as noisy as the city below me. I noticed a bug slithering underneath the long barrel, I thought of things, things you only think about when you're hungry. The bug was wriggling between my fingers when I heard the flapping of a huge bird. It was green. I smiled.

For a few minutes, I watched as it danced under my scope. I see it flapping its huge green wings. It was a bird, then it changed to something bigger, then something smaller, and then it changed back to a bird. All throughout, though, the crosshairs are perfectly locked on it. The moon and the light from the city down below act as my spotlights. I can't wait to pull the trigger, but, damn it, I can't. Wind was simply too strong.

At that point, I had no choice, I prayed. To whom? To anyone listening, I don't care. God, the Devil, anyone.

A few minutes later, the wind died down suddenly. Coincidence. Miracle. Luck. Whatever's it called, I thanked it. I had the perfect shot.

I held my breath, tensed my shoulders, and pulled the trigger. Felt the kick, pain from the shock, I'd forgotten how _hard_ these things recoil.

I saw it all in slow-motion. It was surreal like I was the bullet itself. I saw myself get expelled from the barrel by a loud explosion. The barrel was grooved. I was going at an astonishing speed, I felt like nothing could stop me going as fast as that, nothing at all. Milliseconds later, I went through green skin and then flesh, but that didn't stop me, no, I was going straight, straight to the Moon.

That's when I heard the shriek of a wounded bird. It was green. I smiled.


	2. It Also Stares Back

It's finally here. It's finally beginning. I could see the moment, the moment where I stand before the graves of the Titans.

The crash was somewhere nearby. It was loud, not like a bird: something heavier. I followed it to an alley. It was grimy and dirty, like looking at the ass-crack of this city. The green-freak apparently landed on a pile of old boxes and trash bags. He wasn't there though, not anymore, just blood and garbage. I thought I saw someone, I kicked it, shards flew. A mirror. I found two things: shattered pieces of a yellow communicator. And a trail of red leading away from it. My white rabbit.

The moon vanished from the sky completely, blocked by oppressive clouds. It's going to rain. It's going to rain _hard_.

The trail was erratic, sometimes it was thick, sometimes it was disjointed, and sometimes it skipped altogether. The freak crawled, flew, or limped a few feet away from the crash, and stopped in some alley far worse-looking than from where he'd been. He was bleeding badly. His breathing was worse. I flipped him over.

The bullet did a gruesome job. Midsection looked like something you would see in a modern art museum. He was drowning in red. Doubt that he'll be able to change anymore, but I had to make sure. I stomped on his leg. Then on the other. The crack gave me a familiar shudder, he cried in agony. He'll live though, for now.

"Whatever pain you're in right now, it's too good for you."

I saw horror in the green-freak's eyes. I smiled. He's probably thinking, why, why do this? I don't blame him, that's what I would do. He started crawling again, but this time towards me. He grabbed my leg, he begged. I grabbed him. I shoved my face to his.

"Don't worry,"

I let go, he met ground with a thud. He cried some more.

"It'll all be over soon. You and your friends, trust me, it'll all be over. But right now, it's all about _you_."

Figured I'd take my time, let the freak squirm a bit. Let him hope. I spotted a nearby manhole, and casually walked towards it. Set the lid aside, very heavy. The smell that escaped almost made me puke. I was looking into an abyss, a black void full of nothing. A mirror. Through the distant black, I could hear the sound of water gushing.

There was a flash, and the sky split with a crack. Then it rained, it rained _hard_.

All the blood was being washed away, the filth, everything. All but one. I returned to the company of my green guest, who was busy rolling around the wet concrete. What kind of host was I?

"It's begun. Say hello to your friends for me."

He tried to resist, but the only resist he could muster in that condition was no more threatening than a wet kitten. I knocked his lights out.

I pulled out my pistol.

It's finally here. It's finally beginning. I could see the moment, the moment where I stand before the graves of the Titans.

I pull the trigger. There was a flash, followed by a loud bang. I shot the clouds. The pistol smoked. Somewhere nearby, I could hear the screams of a woman, and then joined by others. Soon enough I hear the sirens. I smiled.

Even before the police came and found the boy, I was already gone. Disappeared into that abyss. That black void full of nothing, now closed by that heavy lid.


	3. Patron of the Hopeless

"Daddy, why are you sad?"

"'Fired'? Daddy, what's that?"

"Why aren't you needed anymore, daddy?"

"But you said you were Super Cop, daddy..."

"It's okay, daddy, I don't need any presents…"

"Daddy… where'd Mommy go?"

I woke up in a cold sweat. The warm afternoon sun greeted me with a forced hello. It's those again. Echoes of a life that I can't even remember having anymore. Always happen when I overexert myself. But hopefully they'll end after all this. I'm doing this all for you, baby, all this for you. I hugged the cold steel closer to me.

News spread quickly. Like a wildfire in the African savannah: uncontrollable, uncontainable and unintelligent. All of them basically have this to say, "Beloved city-hero found injured in alley; in critical condition; suspect not found." News, heh, they never say anything useful. Like what hospital they have the green freak holed up. Nope, they'd never do that; it makes sense. Fortunately though, it doesn't take the world's greatest detective to figure it out. Especially if you know the place where it happened.

"_St. Jude Thaddeus Hospital,"_ was the name of the place. The hospital nearest from the "crime-scene."

From the rooftop across the hospital, I see everything. All the people who comes and goes from that place: everything from the doctors, to the nurses, to the patients, to the visitors, to the costumed freaks. Since the past two days, all but one of the Teen bastards came. The one I actually wanted to come. Some comrade he is.

Of the many problems this plan has, two of them breathe. One of the two problems is an alien with orange skin, and hair as red as lipstick. She flies around (in a skirt, what does that say about her character?), shoots laser balls, and could snap me like a twig. Very scary, yes, but that's not the bigger problem. The other one is called boy wonder. Sure, he could go toe-to-toe with bad guys without having any powers, but that's not why he's the biggest threat. My sources say that he's trained by the world's greatest detective. That alone makes him the biggest threat. That's why I'm here waiting for him to show.

I chew gum. Normally I'd smoke, but I can't risk it. I stroke the cold tubular steel beside me. Gum. Pink chewing gum. It's the only the thing I've tasted in a while. I'm getting sick of it.

I was in the middle of watching a nurse doing _something,_when I heard the boy coming. The vehicle sounded like a motorcycle, but more… futuristic. It was like watching a red-streak splitting the street between left and right. With a noise that seemed to suggest that you can only hear it because it lets you to. Dodging traffic right and left, navigating through the concrete like a monkey in a jungle gym. I have to put a stop to that. And I have just the way.

No matter how much of a boy-wonder he is, he's still a boy: a human being. He may have had extensive training, able to bench his own weight several times over, or even bring down monsters, but even that, still human. With the same vulnerabilities and weaknesses every human has. No bulletproof skin, no laser-eyes, no super breath, nothing. He's not invulnerable. The only difference between him and me is a ridiculous costume. That and an RPG-7.

I held the cold tubular steel on my shoulder, with the red streak in my sights.


End file.
